The Leipzig Jazz Days - More than 40 years of jazz festival culture

Leipzig Jazz Days

The International Leipzig Jazz Days is one of the oldest and most renowned jazz festivals in Germany. In 2016, it celebrated its 40th anniversary.

Every autumn, the Jazzclub Leipzig presents more than 100 musicians over ten days – heavy-weights and jazz pioneers, as well as innovative newcomers. Concerts are played at the Opera and the Schauspielhaus theatre, in the historical Congress Centre at the Zoo, in churches as well as in numerous scene clubs and in the oldest cinema in the city, UT Connewitz.

With self-initiated projects, commissioned compositions and, above all, a thematic framework, the festival reflects the zeitgeist of jazz: "Between Mahler and Miles", "Sound of Heimat" or "Cinematic Jazz" were previous themes. Its close connection to the Polish jazz scene distinguishes the Leipzig Jazz Days from many other festivals. Thanks to the traditional "Jazz for Kids" in the large Opera concert hall, the festival also represents a cultural highlight for the whole family.

The 41st Leipzig Jazz Days

The 41st Leipzig Jazz Days take place from 12 to 21 October 2017 and present a program that revolves around the instrument that shaped our current understanding of contemporary and popular music like no other: the guitar. Jazzclub Leipzig e.V., under the motto "Guitar Summit", invites the cream of the crop of the current international jazz scene, including Pat Metheny, Egbero Gismonti & Maria João, Dominic Miller, Jakob Bro, Gilad Hekselman, Monika Roscher, Giovanni Weiss, Kalle Kalima and Tobias Hoffmann. As part of the festival, they will show off an extraordinary range of jazz guitar stylistics and techniques.

In addition to this thematic focus, two concerts by John Coltrane, one of the corner stones of jazz history, will take centre stage. Peter Ehwald's Double Trouble and Ulrich Hübner's Trane Disciples bring the music of Coltrane, who died 50 years ago, back to life on the stages of the scene clubs naTo and Horns Erben. Other highlights include Shai Maestro, Adam Pierończyk and Miroslav Vitouš, the Jazzrausch Big Band, Electro Deluxe, Kinga Głyk and others